We’ve got some exciting news to share today. Team Elite has a new look!

When Team Elite was first established nearly a decade ago, our objective was to develop a training group for post-graduate athletes working towards the common goal of earning medals for the USA in the Olympic Games that would also serve as role models to younger swimmers both in and out of the pool. As a program within a Charlotte area club team, we sported their logo and colors.

At Team Elite, we think of our brand as an ever-evolving project that’s never totally complete. While many of those original pillars continue to guide us, our vision has grown and our structure has evolved. Our athlete base is now international, and in May, we set out on our own, establishing Team Elite Aquatics, Inc., adding a second training location in San Diego, CA to complement our existing site in Charlotte, NC. As an independent team, it was time to embrace our new identity.

So, we set out this summer with the goal of creating a logo that reflects who we are, and where we want to head from here.

After exploring what felt like a million different ideas for a new icon and struggling to do anything meaningful with the letters T and E, we arrived at using a triangle as the basis of our design. Often utilized in construction, triangles are the strongest shape because any added forces are evenly spread through all three sides. How fitting, given that the best athletes are the ones who have figured out how to manage the physical, emotional, and psychological forces encountered daily while preparing to compete at the highest levels.

From there, we started getting more detailed, looking at angles and pursuing the concept that our logo could be made of interconnected shapes that, when joined together would form a new and complete product – a logo that reflected the process it takes to reach the Olympic podium and beyond.

At last, we were onto something! The simplicity of the triangle felt solid. Its length reminded us of the importance of holding a great line while traveling through the water, its slightly upward slope representing forward movement. And as we played with overlapping two triangles, we began to see the connection between the head and the heart and the form of a swimmer – shaped and influenced by the overlapping relationships of coaches, teammates, friends, and family.

Next, it was time to develop a unique wordmark that would be aesthetically similar and capable of living comfortably alongside our swimmer or as a standalone mark. The result is a custom set of letters that beautifully captures the angles and spirit of the logo. We placed a visual emphasis on “Elite” as that is what we are setting out to be as a team, in everything we do.

We’re pretty proud of the end result. Starting today, you’ll see these exciting changes out in the wild, and gradually over the coming months, on our new website and team apparel.